FOREST REALMS: John Langton and Jeff Hilson, 21st March

‘Sometimes I think we all need a little / forest glossary’, Jeff Hilson writes on the first page of In the Assarts (2010). This evening will focus on the ‘glossing’ of forest space in new poetry, pairing a reading by poet and academic Hilson (University of Roehampton) with a talk by geographer John Langton (University of Oxford).

Hilson’s playful poems riff on medieval histories and forest law, creating a modern ‘lingo’ of the forest as well as revisiting previous literary excursions, from Thomas Wyatt to the Sheriff of Nottingham. Langton will speak on the realm of the forest in thought and culture from early-modern times, drawing from his multi-disciplinary survey, Forests and Chases of England and Wales c. 1000 to c. 1850, whichinvestigates the histories of the forest through maps, charters, and hunting statutes.

Jeff Hilson is a senior lecturer at the University of Roehampton. His poetry includes In the Assarts (2010, London: Veer Books), Bird Bird (2009, Landfill) and stretchers (2006, Hastings: Reality Street). He also edited The Reality Street Book of Sonnets (ed.) (2008, Hastings: Reality Street).

John Langton is an Emeritus research fellow at St John’s College, Oxford. Since 1994, he has primarily been concerned with researching the historical geography of the forests of England and Wales. His books include Geographical Change and Industrial Revolution (1987 and 2009, Cambridge University Press), Atlas of Industializing Britain 1780-1914, edited with R. J. Morris (Methuen, 1986), Peasantry to Capitalism, with G. E. Hoppe (1994 and 2009, Cambridge University Press), Forests and Chases of England and Wales c. 1500-c.1850, edited with G. Jones (2005 and 2008, St. John’s College/Oxbow Books), and Forests and Chases of Medieval England and Wales c.1000 – c.1500, edited with G. Jones (2010, St John’s College/Oxbow Books). The project has also resulted in an online multi-disciplinary survey of forests, including a gazetteer and cartographic database, which is maintained by Dr. Graham Jones. To mark his retirement, Elizabeth Baigent and Robert J. Mayhew edited English Geographies 1600-1950: Historical essays in English cultures, customs and communities in honour of Jack Langton (2009, St. John’s College/Oxbow Books), and he was awarded an honourary doctorate by the University of Uppsala in 2012.

Tickets can be booked through Parasol Unit by phone, email, or online through Paypal.